


In the Heat of the Storm

by Myoneloveismusic



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Astronauts, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Roommates, Space fic, rival roommates, soft hurt/comfort elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-12 03:03:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18002576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Myoneloveismusic/pseuds/Myoneloveismusic
Summary: Jason and Tim had competed with each other ever since they met at the academy. And that didn't stop, not even when they were chosen for a mission that would take them across the universe in a small ship and force them to share the space. They never expected to be on good terms with each other. Not ever.But when they end up in the middle of an asteroid cluster that threatens the integrity of their ship, they realize that not ever is a very long time to be on bad terms.





	In the Heat of the Storm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nanimok](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nanimok/gifts).



> This fic was part of my 800 followers giveaway on Tumblr! I'm so excited to share this because roommates is always a great idea for a pairing, but when you throw together rival roommates and then add space to it all? Well, that sounds like a delicious pot of fic to me! 
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing this so I hope all of you enjoy it!
> 
> <3 MOLIM

“Are you done?” Tim huffed, knocking on the door to the single sleeping room of their ship. They were only two days travel--by the standard twenty-four-hour clock they still operated under--from their last resupply and they were already struggling to get along in the small space of their ship, not that they ever really got along with each other. It was just easier to manage when they could put the entirety of a resupply station between them.  

Jason wrenched open the door and scowled at him. “You know as well as I do these suits are a bitch to get in and out of. So, you can wait five damn minutes for me to change before you get all huffy.”

Tim rolled his eyes. “Whatever. You just go monitor our tools and navigation equipment. We still have several days’ travel before our next survey. And we don’t need anything breaking because you decided to ignore it.”

Jason snorted and pushed past him. “We both know I was better at surveying at the academy. Don’t even start.”

“Yeah, and who’s going to have to fix the equipment if you break it?!” Tim shouted, stepping into the room to slam the door shut behind him. As much as he could slam the thin door they had in the ship.

He was just grateful that they were given two beds for the trip despite having to share a room. He was almost certain the designers of the ship had considered only having one bed since they were already trying to conserve as much energy for their intergalactic mission as possible.

Tim started undoing the zippers on his spacesuit and pushed it down his slim form until he could step out of it. He tossed it into the cleaning box and turned it on before he stepped into the small cleaning stall they were given.

The advancements in artificial gravity were a godsend and Tim had no idea how the earlier ages of astronauts managed it. Although, considering he’d been drafted for a three-year mission with the one person he couldn’t stand and he was always competing against, he supposed they both had their own difficulties when it came to space travel.

Tim sighed as the cleaning mist blew over him. He held his breath so he wouldn’t have to breathe too much of it in. He never got used to the smell, even after two months of suffering through it. He would’ve preferred an actual shower, but they couldn’t waste so much water on such luxuries.

He hoped at their next resupply location they’d have a day or two to recuperate. He wanted at least a hot shower and a soft bed to sleep in, but he would gladly kill a man for a steaming bath. He’d kill Jason for a bath actually. He smiled. Then he would have one less headache to deal with and could finish their mission on his own.

Tim sighed when the stall powered down, leaving him feeling as clean as he could without soap and water. He stepped out of it and pushed open the lid of their suit cleaner, folding his worn suit to stuff into the box where he kept the few belongings he could bring.

He grabbed his second suit and shook it out, pulling open the zipper and clasps before stepping into the legs.  He yanked the suit over his thighs, shimmying until he got his arms through the sleeves and the front zipped up.

Tim ran a hand through his hair and stretched his arms over his head, feeling his back pop in two places. He sighed and let himself relax before he turned to face the closed door to their room.

“Well here we go, I guess,” he grumbled pulling the door open to walk back to the front of the ship and get back to work.

Jason was running through the different systems from his seat and Tim sat in his chair, spinning to face the front windows of their ship. He pulled his monitor in front of him and got to work going through the logs from their recent sample collections, prepared to ignore Jason for the rest of the day and work in blissful silence.

~~

Tim wasn’t sure how long the beeping had been going on before he was pulled from his thoughts. He’d been focused on his work and when he glanced at the clock, noticed several hours had passed since he sat down to get to work.

“Did you break something?” Tim grumbled, not bothering to look at Jason. “I can’t believe I already have to fix something because you were being careless and couldn’t take care of our equipment.”

“Can you shut up for one minute, Tim?” Jason snapped, voice tight. “I didn’t break anything.”

Tim blinked and turned to look at Jason who was hunched over his monitor, looking grim, his face drawn.

“What’s going on?” Tim asked, quickly sobering at the realization something could be very wrong. As comfortable as they were with their ship and their mission, they were still in the depths of space and had little access to resources or help.

Jason typed in several commands and the screen on their front windows lit up, showing the radar surrounding their ship.

“We’ve got incoming.”

“What do you mean incoming?” Tim asked, sitting forward. “Are those…are those asteroids?!” He tried to comprehend the sheer amount of rock hurtling towards them. The only time he’d seen anything close to that was the asteroid belt in their own solar system, but that wasn’t moving to intercept their path at hundreds of miles an hour.

“Yeah, they’re moving faster than anything I’ve seen and they’re going to intercept our course in a matter of minutes.”

“Well, we have to do something. We have to get out of range and-”

“There’s nothing we can do,” Jason said, turning to face him. “We can’t get out of their path in time. Not with the speed they’re moving and how long it takes us to get our hyperdrive thrusters ready.”

Tim felt panic constrict his chest and fought to calm his breathing. “Well we have to…there must be something we can do? We have to protect the equipment and make sure none of it gets damaged. This ship is built for strength and speed. It has to be good enough to hold up against this and keep the samples safe.” Tim nodded to himself and shoved his monitor away, jumping to his feet.

“We can fix this,” he continued. “We can save our research, we just have to make sure it’s secure and it’s going to be fine. We’re going to be fine.”

“Tim, stop!” Jason said, grabbing his arm.

“What do you expect me to do?!” he cried, rounding on him. “This is our mission! This is what we set out to do!”

“We can’t worry about the stupid equipment and logs when our very lives are at risk!” Jason shouted back.

Tim’s chest heaved as he fought to get his breathing under control. The panic overtaking him clouded his mind and he fought to sort through the fog of it all.

“Come on,” Jason said, voice calmer. “We need to get our suits on.”

“You want to go out there?!”

Jason let out a tense breath. “No, you idiot. But if any of those asteroids rip through the side of our ship, we’re going to need to be prepared if we’re sucked into space.”

“Oh,” Tim said, blinking him. “Oh, right. Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” He nodded several times but didn’t move from his spot.

Jason tugged on Tim’s arm, forcing his legs to stumble forward a step. He walked him over to where their suits were hanging up and pulled the slim suits from the rack.

“Can you put this on yourself?” Jason asked, voice gentle as he held Tim’s suit out to him.

Tim stared at it for a moment but took it in hand and pulled the zippers open. He stepped into it and pulled the material over his base layer. Jason did the same, dressing faster than Tim did.

Once they were safely inside the space suits, Jason handed Tim his helmet and put his own on his head. The helmet helped to muffle the beeping that offered terrifying background noise to everything they’d done that past couple minutes, but didn’t stop Tim’s heart from skipping in his chest when a new level of shrieking alarm sounded.

“Let’s go,” Jason said, tugging him to the back of their ship where their room was.

Jason hunkered down in the corner and pulled Tim against him, both of them ducking their heads as they braced for whatever impact would come.

Tim’s breathing was loud to his ears, the helmet amplifying the sound as he tried to ignore what was coming. Nothing happened for several minutes and Tim almost hope they wouldn’t be hit at all and they’d be missed by all of the asteroids, leaving them by some miracle in one piece.

The ship jolted, Tim and Jason thrown against the wall as the first asteroid impacted the ship, the screeching of metal joining the blaring alarms.

“Shit,” Jason breathed, the curse coming through clear as day over the radios in their helmet.

The next two impacts came in quick succession, landing squarely on the side of the ship.

_Bambam._

Tim curled closer in on himself, trying to control the shaking that was already taking over his limbs. He hoped his suit was thick enough Jason couldn’t feel it. He didn’t need him having any blackmail on him if they survived.

_Bam!_

Tim jumped and Jason tightened his hold on him. He let out a shaky breath, not caring if Jason thought he was weak for being scared. Not anymore. Not when they might not make it out of this alive. Not when there was the threat of thousands of pounds of space rock flattening them.

The next asteroid hit the front of the ship and Tim felt them veer off course, spinning wildly until another rock hit their rapidly moving ship, forcing them to the side.

Tim whimpered, the shaking in his limbs getting worse as his uncertainty and fear grew. He could hear more alarms and warning sounds as their ship took more damage.

Jason pulled him closer, keeping his grip tight even as his tense breathing gave away his own fear and anxiety.

The cacophony of asteroids hitting the side of the ship melted together, the sounds less discernable as Tim fought to block them out. Tim wasn't sure how long they stayed huddled together wishing the seconds and minutes by faster. More than once he was certain they'd been killed, sucked into the cold, dark of space, never to finish the mission they'd been tasked with. But another impact brought him back to himself and he knew if they had died and succumbed to whatever fate space had in store for them, he was sure the nightmare would've ended, putting them out of their misery once and for all.

The seconds stretched on between them after one frightfully loud sound of rock grating and smashing against metal reverberated through the walls. Tim's breath was shallow and shaky. He felt lightheaded and was trying to make sense of how long it had been as he waited for the next hit to come. He waited for the final blow that would pierce the metal of the ship and suck them into space, leaving them at the mercy of the rest of the asteroids and with no ship to call for help.

Nothing came and as their ship settled and groaned Jason slowly relaxed, his hold loosening around Tim. Neither of them found the strength to break the silence or move much more than they had. Tim's mind still raced, trying to make sense of what they'd just survived and if he really had just been stuck in the middle of an asteroid storm or if he was about to wake up in his small twin-sized bed and everything was as fine as could be.

They could've died. So many things could've gone wrong, but as far as they knew, where they'd tucked themselves away in a corner, they were alive, and their ship was mostly whole or just whole enough to still keep them safe.

Tim let out a slow breath. Jason had held him through the experience, too. He wasn't sure what, if anything, this would change between them, but it was something new, and not entirely unwelcome. He wasn’t sure how many other people would've willingly held him during an asteroid storm and redirected his attention to what was really important when they were at just as much of a risk of dying.

"We should..." Tim trailed off, his voice loud in the silence. It was almost wrong to break the silence in such a way, but it had to be done. It was time for them to move on. They couldn’t stay tucked away forever. "We should check the status of the ship. I'm sure there's a number of repairs that need to be done and if we don't have all the materials to make them ourselves, we'll have to send out a distress beacon."

"Yeah," Jason agreed, sounding a little distant.

"Okay," Tim said. He nodded to himself, trying to work up the courage to pull out of Jason's grip and the feeling of safety wrapped around him, like if Jason kept holding him nothing would ever be able to hurt him again. He nodded again. "Okay."

He turned in Jason's hold and fought to get his feet underneath him. He braced a hand on the wall and stood, Jason's hands going to his waist to keep him upright as his legs wobbled.

Tim didn't make any snide comment, letting Jason support him as he collected himself yet again. He glanced over his shoulder and nodded at Jason when he was steady.

Jason's hands fell away almost reluctantly, and Tim moved towards the door, listening as Jason forced himself to his feet and groaned, the blood flow returning to his legs after spending so long in one position.

Tim was pleased their artificial gravity had survived the asteroid storm. He walked to the front of the ship, pushing all thoughts of Jason holding him from his mind. He had more important things to do now. Things that would continue to keep them safe now that the original threat had passed.

The monitors at the front of the ship were covered with flashing red lights, highlighting different areas of the ship. Two of their engines were compromised. Flying would be difficult, but not impossible or dangerous as long as they didn't try to push the ship to insane speeds or use the hyperdrive.

One of the oxygen tanks was damaged. The remaining one was mostly operational and would be enough to keep them alive as long as they both didn't try to run a marathon inside the ship, not that they’d have the space for it anyway.

The tanks holding the samples were remarkably unscathed and Tim let out a relieved sigh, some of the weight lifted off his chest. All of their research was safe. They weren't going to lose anything. Their journey hadn't been pointless. It was all going to be okay.

"We'll have to stop for some parts to make repairs happen, but we should be fine to fly," Tim said when he heard Jason come up behind him.

"And the samples?" Jason asked, the words muffled through Tim's helmet.

Tim turned and found him without his helmet on. He pulled his own off and tossed it into his chair, offering Jason a smile. "They're all intact. Nothing was damaged. Amazingly."

Jason smiled. "See? I told you it was going to be okay."

"Do you know where the nearest port is? We should map out our journey and figure out how long it's going to take to get there since we won't be operating on full power."

"We can do that later, Tim," Jason huffed.

Tim shook his head and started typing, clearing away the warning lights from the screen. "We should really focus on this now. It's going to take time to get to a port and more time to get all the damage catalogued and repaired."

"Don't be stupid. I know you already have everything catalogued in that head of yours," Jason said.

"Jason, I'm serious. I-" Tim stopped short when strong fingers wrapped around his bicep and pulled him from the computer. He slammed against Jason's chest, eyes going wide as his face smashed against the front of Jason’s suit.

Jason's arms wound around his back, holding him tightly, almost as tightly as he had during the worst of the storm. Jason bowed over him, nearly wrapping around him in a tight hug.

Tim let out a slow breath and closed his eyes. He felt the last of the tension he'd been holding in seep out of his muscles and his mind quieted. He wrapped his arms around Jason's back, letting himself relax into the hug as he fought to dig his fingers into the unforgiving material of Jason’s spacesuit through his gloves.

This was good. This was okay. He still didn't know what was going on, but he didn't think it was bad. He actually kind of liked it. And maybe...maybe he could get used to having Jason around like this. Maybe they didn't have to constantly bicker and fight while they were around each other.

Maybe they could have something like this where things were more than a little okay and Jason held him when things got bad. Because they were in the middle of the universe and really only had each other to count on when things got bad.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are loved and appreciated!
> 
> [Tumblr](http://my-one-love-is-music.tumblr.com/)
> 
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/m_o_l_i_m)


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